Polybius is a fabled arcade cabinet rumored to have been publicly released for a brief period in the 1981 that caused severe psychological damage to those who played it.
History[]
Polybius Title Screen
Polybius is an urban legend about a rare arcade game released in 1981 by a mysterious company called Sinneslöschen (German for "Sense Deletion"). The game was said to be a puzzle/shoot-'em-up somewhat like Atari's Tempest. It was only released in a few suburbs of Portland, Oregon.
Depending on the version of the legend, it was said that people who played the arcade cabinet suffered from amnesia, blackouts, memory loss, nausea, migraines, headaches, seizures, night terrors, and hallucinations. Despite that, the arcade cabinet was described as so addictive that players returned to Polybius repeatedly until they went insane, died, or vanished. The lack of any surviving Polybius cabinets was explained by men in black who were said to record data on the players before removing all the arcade machines.
Notes[]
- Polybius is a urban legend with no known creator, therefore the idea of it is not protected by copyright.
- "Polybius" still is a trademark of Sinnesloschen, LLC. A Real company named after the supposed creators of the game due to a fangame being made based on the legend.